PepsiCo closes plants in eight states, cuts 1,600 jobs

Closures stretch from coast to coast

PepsiCo has shut down or announced closures at factories and bottling plants in at least eight states since late 2024.

The cuts have hit facilities in New York, California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, wiping out more than 1,600 confirmed jobs based on federal and state WARN Act filings.

Most of the layoffs landed at Frito-Lay snack plants and PepsiCo beverage bottling sites.

The company said business needs and falling demand drove the decisions, and that affected workers are getting pay, benefits, and transition support.

Snack sales fell after years of growth

Frito-Lay’s North American food volumes dropped about 2% in 2025, and beverage volumes fell around 3%. Before that, the Frito-Lay division posted five straight quarters of volume declines through the end of 2024.

CEO Ramon Laguarta said value has become the biggest factor in what people choose to buy. Years of price hikes during and after the pandemic pushed some shoppers away from name-brand snacks.

Many consumers have also started looking for foods with simpler ingredients and fewer processed items.

New York snack factory goes dark

PepsiCo closed its PopCorners plant in Liberty, New York, in May 2025 and laid off all 287 workers. The facility had been making the air-popped corn snack since the late 1990s.

PepsiCo picked it up in 2019 when it bought BFY Brands.

The company pointed to slowing growth for the product line and the broader snack industry as the reason. PopCorners production moved to other PepsiCo facilities around the country.

California plant shut down after 50 years

PepsiCo ended manufacturing at its Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in June 2025. The facility had been open since about 1970, turning out Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos, and Funyuns.

More than 430 workers lost their jobs. The company kept the warehouse and distribution running at the site at first, but later announced that they would close too.

A WARN notice filed in February 2026 confirmed 248 more warehouse layoffs, with a full shutdown set for June 2026.

Orlando lost two facilities at once

PepsiCo closed a Frito-Lay manufacturing plant and its onsite warehouse on Silver Star Road in Orlando in November 2025.

The closure affected 454 workers at the main plant, with 46 more at a nearby warehouse set to lose their jobs by May 2026. That Orlando facility had been running since 1965.

The company filed a WARN Act notice on Nov. 4, 2025, and called it a difficult decision driven by business needs.

Bottling plants closed across four cities

PepsiCo shut down manufacturing, transport, and maintenance at a Detroit beverage plant in September 2025, laying off about 84 workers. That plant had been running for nearly 80 years.

In late 2024, PepsiCo also closed four bottling plants in Chicago, Cincinnati, Harrisburg, and Atlanta, cutting close to 400 jobs. Only the Chicago plant is fully closed.

The Teamsters union filed a lawsuit alleging that PepsiCo broke federal WARN Act notice rules for the Chicago closure.

Activist investor pushed for bigger moves

Elliott Investment Management disclosed a stake worth about $4 billion in PepsiCo in September 2025 and pushed the company to simplify its product lineup, cut costs, and boost margins.

By December 2025, PepsiCo announced a deal with Elliott to cut nearly 20% of its U.S. product offerings by early 2026. The agreement also called for lowering prices on core brands and reviewing the supply chain.

Some closures had already started before Elliott got involved, but the deal picked up the pace.

Shoppers may see fewer options on shelves

PepsiCo is pulling about one-fifth of its product varieties, so some sizes, flavors, or package types may disappear from stores.

The cuts target underperforming items, not whole brand lines, so Doritos and Lay’s are expected to stay. The company has promised lower prices on key brands but has not said by how much.

PepsiCo is also reformulating some products with simpler ingredients, no artificial colors or flavors, and added protein or fiber.

New launches include Simply NKD versions of Cheetos and Doritos, plus a Doritos Protein line planned for 2026.

Tighter budgets and health trends changed buying habits

Inflation and higher borrowing costs have squeezed household budgets, making people pickier about what they spend on. Shoppers have shifted toward grocery staples and away from extra snacks.

Growing interest in healthier eating has also played a role, with surveys showing most consumers now look for better-for-you options.

The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic may be cutting into snack buying too, though the direct hit to PepsiCo’s sales is not clear yet.

Store-brand snacks have gained ground as people hunt for cheaper picks.

Other food giants are cutting back too

PepsiCo is not alone. General Mills, Conagra Brands, and Del Monte Foods have all closed plants and cut jobs in 2024 and 2025.

J.M. Smucker announced its Hostess plant in Indianapolis would close by early 2026, affecting 259 workers. Campbell’s lowered its 2025 sales forecast after cookie and cracker sales failed to bounce back.

Mondelez, the maker of Oreo, reported a revenue drop of about 4% in North America, pointing to a consumer shift toward grocery staples. The pattern points to a broad reset across packaged food, not just one company.

PepsiCo projects modest growth ahead

The company expects organic revenue growth of about 2% to 4% in fiscal 2026. PepsiCo’s fourth-quarter 2025 core earnings per share came in at $2.26, beating analyst estimates.

Laguarta has said the company is focused on speeding up growth and aggressively cutting costs. PepsiCo is also merging its Frito-Lay and beverage divisions in North America under one operating structure.

On top of that, the company is building a new 1.2-million-square-foot beverage plant near Denver, though construction has hit delays.

More changes may still be on the way

PepsiCo has not shared the full scope of corporate and office layoffs tied to its December 2025 restructuring announcement.

That same month, employees at offices in New York, Chicago, and Texas were told to work from home, a move widely seen as a signal that layoffs were coming.

Chief People Officer Jennifer Wells told staff the company would make structural changes affecting some roles. No new plant closures for 2026 have been formally announced beyond the Rancho Cucamonga warehouse shutdown.

Analysts expect more cost-cutting and possible facility closures as PepsiCo works toward its margin targets.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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